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Previous food recalls

An investigation was undertaken after needles were found in strawberries in Queensland. Six strawberry brands were recalled: Donnybrook Berries, Love Berry, Delightful Strawberries, Oasis, Berry Obsession and Berry Licious. The strawberries were sold in stores in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. It's believed the needles were deliberately added to the products by a disgruntled employee of a Queensland strawberry farm. The affected brands were removed from sale.

A nationwide recall of multiple frozen vegetable products was initiated due to possible microbial (Listeria monocytogenes) contamination. The products were sold under brand names Bell Farms, Black & Gold and Woolworths Essentials.

Greenyard Frozen Belgium NV, a Hungarian food producer, initiated the original recall in July, which affects products supplied to multiple countries including Australia.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reported that frozen corn and other frozen vegetables produced by the same Hungarian company are the likely source of an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes that has been affecting Austria, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom since 2015. As of mid-June 2018, 47 cases including nine deaths had been reported.

Multiple people fell ill with Salmonella poisoning after eating contaminated alfalfa sprouts sold in South Australia. The sprouts were available for sale at Drakes Foodland, IGA and numerous greengrocers in SA. Experts postulated that the source of the contamination could have been from the water used for irrigation, manure or the soil itself. For more information people were asked to contact SA Sprouts, phone: 08 8352 6707.

A South Australian woman died from Hepatitis A, two months after eating contaminated frozen pomegranates which were the target of a nationwide recall. Creative Gourmet brand frozen pomegranates, sold in Coles supermarkets across Australia, were recalled in April 2018 after NSW Health determined that a number of people presenting with hepatitis A had all consumed the imported product. Genetic testing of those affected identified a unique strain of the hepatitis A virus known as genotype 1B.
Nationally, there have been 24 cases to date of hepatitis A linked to the recalled product.

Six people died and many more fell ill as a result of eating rockmelon contaminated with Listeria. Rockmelons sold in supermarkets including Woolworths and Coles sparked an outbreak of listeriosis (also known as listeria infection), an illness that can be severe and fatal. All of the people affected contracted the condition before the contaminated rockmelons were destroyed, as Listeriosis can take more than a month for symptoms to present. Rockmelons traced back to a grower in Nericon, NSW, were identified as the common cause in all cases, prompting health and food agencies across different states to launch an investigation and coordinate a recall.

Four cases of hepatitis A were linked to Creative Gourmet's Mixed Berries, sparking the second nationwide frozen berry recall after a previous outbreak in 2015. Supplier Entyce Foods initiated a recall of 48,000 Creative Gourmet's Mixed Berries in 300 gram packs, most of which were sold at independent supermarkets by March 2017.

Up to 30 different types of pre-packaged and loose leaf lettuce mixes sold at Coles, Woolworths, Bi-Lo and a number of independent retailers around Australia were recalled following a salmonella outbreak linked with the products.
The affected products, which were grown in Australia, were sold under the Coles, Woolworths, SupaSalad and Wash N Toss brands and came from a Victorian-based lettuce grower Tripod Farmers. A wide range of lettuce types were affected and included both pre-packaged and loose-leaf products such as spinach, rocket, cos and mesculin.

Seven different coconut drink products were recalled for not including necessary allergen warnings. The drinks, imported from countries including China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, were largely sold through Asian grocery stores and independent retailers. For people with dairy allergies, consuming these drinks could have serious consequences. The government stepped up efforts to remove those products containing undeclared allergens from the Australian market.

Packets of frozen mixed berries, sold under the brands Nanna's and Creative Gourmet by Patties Foods, were recalled as health officials linked a number of cases of hepatitis A in Victoria and NSW to the consumption of the fruit sourced from China and Chile. The frozen mixed berries were sold mainly in Woolworths, Coles and IGA supermarkets.The recall prompted renewed calls for improved country of origin labelling.

Why do food recalls happen?

A food recall is action taken by a food business to remove unsafe food from distribution, sale and consumption. All food businesses must be able to quickly remove food from the marketplace to protect public health and safety. FSANZ coordinates and monitors food recalls in Australia.

Recalls are classified according to the problem with the food. This includes:

undeclared allergen – due to incorrect labelling, incorrect packaging or contamination of the product by an allergen

microbial – contamination with pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses or parasites

foreign matter – contamination with material such as glass, metal or plastic objects

biotoxin – contamination with biological toxins such as histamine in fish and paralytic shellfish toxin in oysters